


cruel summer

by imposterhuman



Series: lover [5]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Bad Boy Tony Stark, Based on a Taylor Swift Song, Breaking Up & Making Up, Fluff, Football Player Steve Rogers, Hopeful Ending, M/M, POV Steve Rogers, Protective Steve Rogers, Steve Feels, Steve Rogers Needs a Hug, SteveTony, Tony Angst, Tony Has Issues, Tony Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Has A Heart, tiny bit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-16
Updated: 2019-09-16
Packaged: 2020-10-19 15:01:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20659136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imposterhuman/pseuds/imposterhuman
Summary: Steve woke to a thump at his window. Another came, then another, until he rolled out of bed with a groan and threw open his window.“Steve!” Tony called from the ground. In the dark of the night, the only things that Steve could clearly see was the pinprick red glow of his cigarette, but Steve knew Tony was grinning up at him like a devil. “You’re up!”He rolled his eyes. They had known each other long enough for Steve to know that the other boy was a night owl of the highest order who functioned solely on coffee and spite. “I was sleeping,” he said waspishly. “What do you want?”“You,” Tony shrugged. He said things like that sometimes, brutally honest. Steve preferred it to the hundreds of masks that Tony wore for everyone else, but it sure did make it hard to refuse the few requests the other boy made. “C’mon. It’s a full moon, I have my motorcycle, let’s just get out of here for a few hours. It’ll be romantic.”





	cruel summer

**Author's Note:**

> chronologically this falls before mister americana, i plan to reorder the series once i finish writing everything, so just hold out for that! if it gets confusing before then lmk but ill try to put a note like this before every one
> 
> enjoy!

Steve woke to a thump at his window. Another came, then another, until he rolled out of bed with a groan and threw open his window.

“Steve!” Tony called from the ground. In the dark of the night, the only things that Steve could clearly see was the pinprick red glow of his cigarette, but Steve knew Tony was grinning up at him like a devil. “You’re up!”

He rolled his eyes. They had known each other long enough for Steve to know that the other boy was a night owl of the highest order who functioned solely on coffee and spite. “I was sleeping,” he said waspishly. “What do you want?”

“You,” Tony shrugged. He said things like that sometimes, brutally honest. Steve preferred it to the hundreds of masks that Tony wore for everyone else, but it sure did make it hard to refuse the few requests the other boy made. “C’mon. It’s a full moon, I have my motorcycle, let’s just get out of here for a few hours. It’ll be romantic.”

_ I don’t want to be alone _ , Steve heard. He knew enough about Tony’s home life to know that Tony was running for a reason, probably another black eye or fat lip that Steve would try to kiss the pain away from. 

There was a tight feeling in Steve’s chest that he knew was love. It was early, but he’d always been one to fall fast and hard. He didn’t know why it  _ hurt  _ so much, though. Steve smiled through the slight pain, indulgent as he looked down at Tony.

“Fine,” he conceded, grabbing a jacket and carefully climbing out of his window. 

“Don’t fall and die,” Tony shouted helpfully. “I’d be very sad.”

“It would be all your fault,” grumbled Steve, making the reach from his house to the tree outside his window and shimmying down. He was well practiced; Tony liked his midnight excursions, and Steve liked Tony.

“Debatable,” Tony greeted him with a kiss that tasted like nicotine when Steve dropped from the tree. “Hello there, Captain.”

“Hey, heartbreaker,” Steve smiled into the kiss, linking his pinky with Tony’s. “Where are we headed?”

“Wherever we want,” said Tony, leading Steve through the garden gate out to the street where his motorcycle was parked. “Let’s start our adventure at 7/11, though. I want snacks.”

“You always want snacks,” teased Steve, settling in behind Tony on the seat and taking a hold of his waist. Tony reached around to strap his helmet on Steve’s head with a sweet kiss. “If I fall off, I’m taking you with me.”

“How many times have I driven us?” he felt the vibrations of Tony’s laugh as they sped away down the empty road. “You haven’t fallen off.”

“Yet!” Steve shouted over the roar of the engine. “I haven’t fallen off yet!”

Tony just laughed again, and Steve leaned his head against his boyfriend’s back to enjoy the ride. The streetlights zipped past, painting the sleeping world orange. 

As much as Steve complained, Tony really was a good driver. The ride as smooth as it was fast and they were in front of the closed 7/11 in no time. 

At 3 in the morning, the only snacks available were from the outdoor vending machine that got restocked once in a blue moon. Tony still examined the meager selection like it was the menu at a five-star restaurant, a faux-seriousness that put a smile on Steve’s face. 

Tony dug through his pocket for change, stepping up to the glass while Steve hung back a little. The night was perfectly quiet without the roar of Tony’s motorcycle to break it, and Steve took a moment to observe the tableau his boyfriend presented. 

In the glow of the vending machine, Tony looked almost ethereal with his head low. He looked like a piece of art that Steve could only see, never touch. For a moment, he seemed terribly sad, but it passed as soon as he opened his eyes from where they had fallen shut.

“You okay?” Steve asked, breaking the silence and watching Tony carefully. 

Tony had only one tell that Steve knew of. On the rare occasions that he lied, he’d tap the middle finger of his left hand twice against his thigh before hiding his hand. Unless someone was looking, they’d never see it. 

He tapped his finger once, twice. “Always,” he grinned. Steve almost believed it, but he had seen Tony’s hand twitch. “Now, chips or popcorn?”

\---

“You can’t fix him, you know,” Natasha sat down next to Steve on the grass. Their whole group was there, playing some elaborate game that Steve had lost early. He was just content to sit on the side and watch Tony laugh in unbridled joy. It was rare, to see his boyfriend smile like this, and Steve intended to cherish the moment. “He’s one of my best friends; trust me, I know. You can love him, but you can’t fix him. And you can’t love him  _ to  _ fix him. It’ll just fuck both of you up.”

“I don’t want to fix him,” Steve said honestly. “That’s not my job. He’s gotta fix himself, I know that.”

“You’re not going to say there’s nothing wrong with him?” she arched an eyebrow and leaned back in the grass. 

He stared back, unimpressed. “I make a habit of not lying, Nat, and we both know that boy has more issues than I have touchdowns,” he joked, an air of seriousness under it. “And where I can help, I will. But I’m not in this to fix him.”

“Aren’t you a saint,” she snorted, turning to watch the game with a small smile. “I notice you didn’t deny that you love him.”

“I make a habit of not lying,” Steve repeated with a shrug. “I do love him.”

“Does he love you?”

He looked at Tony, who caught his stare and blew him a kiss. Steve felt his heart clench. “I hope so,” he whispered. “I really hope so.”

\---

They were fighting over something stupid, Steve didn’t even know what, but it had escalated and they were screaming at each other and Steve just wanted it to end. Tony had long since passed shouting to silence, which was almost worse. He stood impassively, like nothing affected him, like nothing mattered.

Like Steve didn’t matter.

Steve had lost the thread entirely. He didn’t know why he was mad, why it  _ mattered  _ that he be right and Tony be wrong. They were fighting just to fight at that point, and Steve was tired. Every breath hurt with the love in his chest, but it felt more and more like a brick weighing him down. Especially because Tony would never reciprocate.

“Why do you even care, Steve?” Tony fixed Steve with a glare. Steve couldn’t believe that he could possibly be that stupid. Tony was a genius, but Steve was having an issue believing it at that moment. “It’s my fucking life. Why the fuck do you care?”

“Because I love you!” Steve shouted angrily, like a challenge, like a promise. He’d never meant to tell Tony, especially not like this. But the words were out there and he couldn’t take them back. It wasn’t like Tony didn’t know, anyway, even if he’d never said it in as many words. It was in every kiss, every late night motorcycle ride, every shouted word. “Because I fucking love you, okay? And isn’t that the worst thing you’ve ever heard?”

Tony blanched. “Steve, I-” he started, trademark silver tongue having seemingly abandoned him.

“I don’t care,” Steve cut him off, suddenly exhausted. “It doesn’t matter. I’m going to go.”

“Steve-”

“Leave it, Tony,” he barked, words curling like acid on his tongue. “It doesn’t have to be a thing. It doesn’t mean anything, okay? Slip of the tongue.”

Tony’s whole demeanor shifted to the very epitome of bad boy that had the whole school desperate to stay on his good side. “If you say so,” he said flippantly. But Steve knew him well enough to hear the cracks in his facade. “I’ll see you around, Rogers.”

“Sure, Stark,” Steve laughed hollowly and walked away. He didn’t look back. He knew if he did, he’d end up right back at Tony’s feet, begging for scraps of affection like a dog. No matter how much he loved Tony, he couldn’t do that. 

He got halfway home before he realized that it wasn’t the anger keeping him warm in the chilly night; it was Tony’s leather jacket that the boy had draped carefully around Steve’s shoulders at his first shiver. 

Steve crumpled to the ground and sobbed into the fabric.

\---

Steve woke to a thump at his window. Only one, and he knew there would be no more. His eyes were puffy with tears, his movements stiff as he made his way across the room to the window. Against his better judgement, he didn’t just close his curtains and go back to bed. Despite everything they'd shouted at each other, and maybe because of it, he knew Tony would have respected that rejection and left him alone without protest.

But Steve didn’t want to be alone, not really. So he slid open the window, catching the sight of Tony's retreating back. Tony halted in his path, staring up at Steve with something that might have been hope, but was impossible to decipher in the weak moonlight.

Without a word, he grabbed Tony’s leather jacket and slung it on, climbing out his window a little less gracefully than usual and landing on the ground. He stayed silent as he moved in front of Tony, who looked as wrecked as he felt. 

Steve stared at Tony for a moment, cataloging the signs of a recent fight: bruised knuckles, a black eye, dried blood on the corner of his lip. His eyes were red from crying, and Steve was willing to bet that the pain in the lines of his face wasn’t from his injuries.  _ You can’t fix him _ , Natasha’s voice reminded him.  _ But you can love him.  _

“Hello there, Captain,” he whispered, voice hoarse. There was something defeated in his posture, something that screamed of hurt and hopelessness. Steve knew that if he just backed away now, if he didn’t respond, Tony would accept it. He wouldn’t fight for Steve again, because he didn’t think he deserved to. 

Steve still loved Tony; one fight wouldn’t change that. One hundred fights probably wouldn’t change that. It was one of the universe’s fundamental rules, Steve figured; what goes up must come down, force equals mass times acceleration, and Steve Rogers is and always will be irrevocably in love with Tony Stark. 

Steve reached out gently, linking their pinkies with a small smile. “Hey, heartbreaker.”

**Author's Note:**

> the original plan had been to end it right after their fight, but i didnt want yall to come murder me for another unhappy ending (also im an absolute sucker for happy endings)
> 
> comments and kudos make my day!!
> 
> yell at me on tumblr [@imposter-human](https://imposter-human.tumblr.com/)


End file.
